According to Minister for Culture, Community, and Youth, Edwin Tong, a new preservation study on 38 Oxley Road in Singapore was required because the results of a previous property assessment of the property were not presented to the Preservation of Sites and Monuments Advisory Board ( PSM AB).
On the former residence of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, Mr. Tong responded to parliamentary questions from Progress Singapore Party non-constituency members Leong Mun Wai and Louis Chua ( WP-Sengkang ).
Mr Leong had asked why another study was required when the ministerial committee formed to consider the fate of 38 Oxley Road , had previously determined that it had “architectural, heritage and historical significance” based on a National Heritage Board ( NHB) assessment of the property.
Mr. Chua had questioned the terms of reference for the home study being conducted by NHB and how they were compared to those of the supervisory committee.
In a published email to their questions, Mr Tong said that while NHB’s earlier studies were incorporated into the governmental agency’s 2018 report on the house, they had not been presented to the PSM AB.  ,
He claimed that the ministerial council had determined that no decision needed to be made at that time and that all options may be left open.
” The PSM AB did not receive the findings until the study was evaluated on the suitability of 38 Oxley Road as a regional statue.”
The expert board is generally given the results of research done by NHB on a creating, site, or structure that has the potential to become designated a national monument.
The table had then make an impartial decision regarding whether or not this research should be protected as a national monument.
According to Mr. Tong,” The PSM AB makes this analysis based on goal standards for all sites that have the ability to be preserved as a national monument.”
According to the secretary, Mr. Lee Hsien Yang’s decision to start the new research was related to his decision to have the home on the site destroyed.
” NHB has started the process to determine 38 Oxley Road’s eligibility and suitability for preservation as a national monument” in light of the owner’s most recent software to demolish the building, which would quickly rule out a proper and thorough account of options, according to Mr. Tong.  ,
” This includes presenting the study to the PSM AB for independent analysis.” NHB would finally make a proposal to the Minister for Culture, Community, and Youth regarding the application of the Preservation of Monuments Act to the site.
He added:” This follows the common judgment method before any building, blog or composition can get preserved as a National Monument, and we will apply this correctly to 38 Oxley Road”.